LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROVIDED BY Mr. Sokchea SAING:

LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROVIDED BY Mr. Sokchea SAING:

I will likely talk about how great Sokchea’s leadership training are for a long time; maybe the rest of my life. Perhaps it will become sad. In any case, Sokchea has taught levels I and II (45 hours of training) 6 times at Aziza (with an average 25 per class). We can now say that we have a large body of leaders, and the results show all around. I regularly show up and am struck with pride with the initiatives the students are taking on, and how they shine. The level of English speaking has gone up, and more and more students are finding quality full and part time jobs (quality, for the local economy that is).Sokchea has brought together a group of 12 volunteer students, or Team Leaders, who want the opportunity to practice leadership skills by taking on a responsibility within the school, as well as assisting with our Leadership trainings. Having the Team Leaders be a part of things gives us much more leverage in our ability to get things done and influence the community (since they are the community).The leadership training has gone on the road, and so have the Team Leaders. Many of the Team Leaders are also our best presenters, and during these weekend-long trainings to other groups, they assist with teaching the lessons, talk about their lives, how they overcame obstacles, the challenges of living in a slum, and just getting to know each other (see the above picture of our student Lena holding hands with a student from the countryside at the end of a leadership training). In exchange the rural students show them their lives, the farms they work, and local customs. It is another achievement for which I am proud to be a part of, and feels like it will have the most lasting impact since these students seem unstoppable, and I have full faith that they will be great leaders for the future of Cambodia.While away at the most recent leadership weekend, 2 team leaders taught a Kundalini Yoga class and did a great job, thanks to a very cool group that is teaching yoga/meditation to our students and the community 2 evenings per week; http://www.kundaliniyogacambodia.org/We have a lot of fun, and have activities for physical and mental wellness in addition to yoga. Every Sunday evening we go to do aerobics/dancing at Olympic stadium. With a hint of communist mass-exercise, it is pure fun and my favorite part of the week. About 25 teenagers all pile into 3 tuk tuks for our weekly routine, and we get special attention from the teacher who recognizes the student’s enthusiasm. The students all say their dancing has improved, and it is contributing to the high level of confidence they have these days.
**We had a huge X-mas party packed with activities from afternoon to night, organized by the students, finishing with a loud dance party that our students are always good for.A clown came, and so did Michael Higgins and his brother. Cambodian medical students came recently and gave the 1st of 3 shots of a tetnus vaccine to students over 8 years old (see picture of kids holding their arms – there were over 90 recipients that day). One thing we have been doing since the beginning is giving the students de-worming pills. Recently we gave out a round, and had a nurse assist with the education portion of the treatment, making sure kids understand what they are taking and why (if they wanted to take it). Two days after we gave them out, a mother told us that her child puked up a 4” worm. I was so happy to hear it was making an impact.We are lucky to now have a great Cambodian doctor come weekly to help sick students and their families (lucky, and blessed by great donors). It has been a big undertaking of resources, but is going great. Many students who lived with sickness are now well! Dr. Chenda (female) also teaches a few days a week, and assists with health trainings for our women’s group. After she gives the exam, our medical coordinator, Sreang, fills the prescriptions and distributes the medicine, carefully going over the instructions and asking patients to write down and sign that they understand how to take the medicine. We also have an Australian nurse, Lucy, volunteering to create good structures to provide the best health care and education we can, and to make the best use of our funds.One night, an owl flew into the very tall palm tree in front of the school. I was happy to see the majestic, rare creature bless us with his presence. Simultaneously, a student was preparing to throw a rock at it. I motioned for him not to do so, and said that I liked owls. A few of the students explained to me that the owl is thought to bring death, and that the death could be getting placed into someone as we watched it, our necks creaking upward. After I thought about it from their side (I mean owls do have a pretty creepy look), I decided to join them and we all threw stones up at the bringer-of-death.Just kidding! I gave my best performance and tried to convince them that owls are great, which seemed relatively effective to the 6 kids who were actually listening to the student who was translating for me. After a bit the owl flew away, and I thought it must kind of suck to be an owl in Cambodia.We recently went to a very small village outside of Oudong, the old capital of Cambodia, and Sokchea gave a leadership training. The boys slept on tarps outside the manager’s house and the girls slept inside. I spread my tarp under a bamboo tree, and had multiple students approach me that they were concerned that the tree would take the oxygen out of the air during the night, and I would be a little deprived of oxygen. They said that during the day trees give out oxygen, but at night they take it in and give out carbon dioxide. I moved my tarp after they also said that I was on a cow path.Cucumbers, I feel, should not be cooked, but so often in Cambodia they are.Oh, and we had some tragedies too. I don’t feel the need to publish them, but of course it is not all rosy in a poor community within a country know for human rights abuses and child labor. I can see people pulling themselves out of the cycle of poverty, but I am saddened knowing what potential gets untapped, especially in young people, when even a small event takes resources from a family.There is also a new short story on my personal blog, http://cambodiastories.blogspot.com/
It's been a long road to get to where we are, and I thank everyone who has been a part of our success. We are eager for and donations (click on the Donate button on the upper right hand side of this page), and would appreciate anything that is good for you, as well as any help in finding us new donors.I will be in the US for a visit starting in April. I hope to see you in person soon.

By Drew Mcdowell

Leadership Training Provided by Mr. Sokchea SAING for Dey Krahorm community, Phnom Penh

Leadership

I wrote about one of our teachers Sokchea SAING on a previous blog, and how we are so lucky to have him and what a great teacher he is. He was born to teach, and it is no surprise that by employing someone who found his calling in life things would work out well.
Early in the year he approached me and said he wanted to teach a Leadership class. I questioned him about whether he was really qualified, and could he really come up with 25 hours of material. I said I would think about it and asked him to help me do some research to see what already exists. A few days later he said he was ready to teach it and all he needed was my approval. He said I didn’t need to pay him, he would be a volunteer, and just wanted my approval. I couldn’t say no to that, and let him do his thing.
The class was packed on the first day, and a few weeks into it the students were telling me they loved it and were getting so much from it. They were finding ways to deal with their families and life challenges. He is loud and enthusiastic when he teaches, students are constantly engaged, and the students say they love his humor. I let Sokchea know he could be paid for his time.
To graduate from the Leadership class, and receive a lamented, color certificate with their picture, students had to have attended at least 20 classes (during their lunch hour) and pass the written exam. Several failed, but still attended the ceremony and party we threw at the end.
As soon as the first class ended he started a Level II class. Then we offered the Level I again, then level II, now level I again, but the class is too crowded even after turning some students away, so we need to divide the class. At this point, we have trained over 60 students in leadership, and the results are showing.
We rented a big tent ($12) and had a big outdoor graduation ceremony for all the community to see the proud new leaders, then rented a boat ($25, plus food) for the party. The party was all organized by the students with great care, food, games…and they danced like rock stars. It was unbelievably fun, and the difference from some of them was so inspiring. To see Chanta, a 14 year old girl who seemed so shy, get up and sing karaoke was inspiring.
Our biggest field trip was to the zoo/wildlife sanctuary (all animals were rescued from poachers) and the Leadership students created a Leadership Team that organized all the details and divided the students into manageable groups. They were completely amazing. There were 115 students, 8 moms, 10 foreigners, 3 buses, and a million laughs. We've never done anything with all the students outside of the school, and it was really a special day for them. After the zoo we went swimming in a mud-colored lake. They love to go swimming, and rarely get to. Most kids hardly ever leave the slum where they live, so the day had many impacts, and went like clockwork.
The best stories are on a personal level, such as Ly Thanh, who bought ‘teacher Sokchea’ a new shirt and wrote him a letter about how she was so much happier after taking his class. She explained that her family never encouraged her or took her side, but now she could deal with them and have compassion for their shortcomings. She later talked about how she was able to improve her business selling cooked duck eggs by being personable with customers and the police, who would ask her for money to sell in a public place.
I went to visit her and her family (I have tried to interview all the families), and later cried thinking about how terrible the conditions were at her house, the challenges she has overcome, and how great she turned out. Here is her letter, translated to English:
Dear Teacher,
My name is Ly Thanh, I am a student, and would like to give this [shirt] as a present to the my teacher. I would like to deeply express my appreciation to the teacher for teaching my sisters and me. Since I have come here to study, I understand a lot about the personal problems that I have had for years. The truth is that I am an unfortunate child. My parents mentally, emotionally and physically didn’t care much for me. What they have or bought, they have never given it to me; they give it to others. In addition, when other says that I am not a good child, my parents blame it on me with no reason. Because of this, it was hard for me to move forward even though I wanted to. These days only my grandma, my uncles, my aunts and others give me encouragement. When I needed help, it’s them who helped me.Since I have come to study, I have had some relief from that sadness that I had for years. The lessons at Aziza school helped to me have control of my life. I am so thankful for the teachers who gave me encouragement that my parent didn’t.Lastly, I wish teacher’s family to have happiness and good health in the family. I want to wish you to have success in work as you desired.

By Drew Mcdowell

Youth Empowerment Leadership

Led by specialist leadership teacher Mr Sokchea SAING, the leadership in action course offered to teenage students of the Rudi Boa center aims to teach essential life skills and importantly get young people to thinks about their goals in life and steps they need to take to achieve these goals.
“ This class is very good for me and the country. I can participate in society. In the future, I think I will be a good leader of a company or my family, but I have never thought that before this class,” said Meng Ratana, 17, a leadership student at the Rudi Boa Center.

This course has had a phenomenal impact on the youth of Village 4. Mr. Sok Chea discusses the changes he has observed in one of his students:
“ One of my students told me that his parents were not concerned about his studies and sometimes he felt hopeless by himself. When the class breaks, he always brought his story to discuss with me, and promised that he would try to study until he got the number one student in the class. Sometimes he studied without anytime to eat food. He was a quiet person an was shy in the class. Now he is a sociable person and is confidents to make presentations in front of the white board, not like before. He told me that now he knows how to manage the goals of his life and to face his problem.”

In 2007, 57 students graduated from the first and second levels of the leadership course provided and Rudi Boa Center. Some of these graduates are actively giving back to their community as volunteers at the Rudi Boa center. These courses will be offered for new students in 2008, while the leadership Group of 2007 will be able to continue to develop their leadership skills with a more advanced course taught by Mr. Sokchea SAING.

By Bridges Across Borders

Greeting From Mr. Sokchea SAING

Hello Friends!

How are you all? I’m sorry that you haven’t heard from me for a while. In the past few months I have been very busy because I now work for two organizations. At the weekends, I often teach leadership class. My skills as leadership teacher have improved, especially since I joined two workshops abroad: The Landmark Program in Singapore, one week in May, and a course in Play Therapy in Australia, one week in June. These courses helped me understand people’s feelings better, and I learned a lot about conflict solving. Both times I appreciated the opportunity to improve in intercultural communication.

My new skills helped me be a stronger leadership teacher here, for example at Rudi Boa Center, where I taught September 6th and 7th. The community in that area will be relocated soon, and it was very important to me to teach the kids some skills they will need when they face the new situation: Once they lose everything (home, jobs, etc.) they will need to be strong to start again. They will need to know who they are, what their goal is, and how they can solve conflicts productively. That weekend I taught them how to go about problems with people close to them – friends, family, classmates. They learned how they, acting as the key figures in their conflicts, can stand up for themselves and take action to solve problems, while at the same time treating everyone involved with respect.
We invited their parents to join us on Sunday, and, in front of the whole class, students apologized to their parents for their mistakes and told them that they loved them.

Here is a letter by Thaong Pung Thida, a 14-year-old girl in grade 9:

Studying leadership, I have become aware of my past behavior, my mistakes and my attitude. I realized that I have never been very respectful to my parents and that I have never listened to them. Instead, I have often made them sad. But now, I have begun to become a new person and am starting a new life. I don’t hang around the wrong crowd anymore, and I quit skipping school. Furthermore I don’t talk back to my parents anymore, and I feel that leadership is the best course for me and for everybody.
Everyone who has the opportunity: Please join it!
Finally, I would like to tell my parents that I love them so much, even though they didn’t come to join our workshop. I will love you forever and ever.
Also, I will be a good student and pay respect to the teacher. I would like to express my special thanks to teacher Kakada, who always encourages me to be a good child and a good student. THANK YOU!

Survivor Challenges at Rabbit Island
I am a student who studied at AZIZA SCHOOL. I would like to tell you about the best action, which was happened bellow.
On September 07,2007, team leaders group of AZIZA SCHOOL and the 9 students who got the number one in leadership class that provided by Mr. Sokchea SAING, and I am one of the student among them. On the other hand, there were three teachers and other four foreigners participated in this trip to Kep city for two days and a half.

After we arrived Kep city, my friends and I knew that this is the place we must to showing our ability of leadership through the six games that managed by Mr. Drew McDowell for each game. These games will choose one of them to be the real leader. We stayed in a guesthouse for one day.

On September 08,2007, I and all my friends carried out those games which called “Survivor Challenge”. we divided into two groups that one group has 5 members led by Mr. Put Set and another was my group which has 4 members led by Mr. Kim Sreang. All games always challenge each other that connected to the external / outside.

The first game is buying food which provided each group use $ 12 per group to buy food without higher or lower than $ 12. The second game is cooking food, which provided each group to cook on the island call “Rabbit Island”. We determine on the beauty of food, taste, and time. The third game is camping which provided each group camp and find the equipments by themselves. The camp must be strong and beautiful that can stay one day. The forth game is read ivy the newspapers which is the talent game that recommend them to remember less or more by the short duration of times. The fifth game is performing the story that good in meaning, take short times, and make the audience attractive. The sixth game is showing the talent. This game needs to pick up one representative in each group to speak.

Through playing these games, it provided me for a special feeling that I cannot say. Moreover, it provided me with a lot of useful things such as.
-To make and manage the clear plan before doing something.
-To use the money in a limited way and share it for others problems.
-To be brave in communication with others people whom we don’t know them.
-To white in-group in order to help each other without lagy in duties and without sharing heavy or unheavy jobs each other.
- To share ideas and experiences each other without thinking the rank of people and know the strength and the weakness of our self.
- To know how the people live and they’re living standard in that area.
- To know the goods and guesthouse prices especially know how to live with foreigners such as: the conditions, foods, and habits.

On the other hand, there are many difficulties for me such as.
-It was very difficult to cook and to find the name of the food to do (our self) without helping from others, and to share the money was very difficult because we need to separate it for foods and at there writhing was very expensive. So, we asked many stores to find the ingredients what we wanted to lovy.
-Camping was very difficult for me because I am a female and never done it. I and my friends need to find the equipments and used our talent to communicate with the people who lived at there in order to borrow some equipment from them even though we never known each other, and we found some woods in the forest which full of sharp thorns, In addition, we borrowed the kitchen from the people to cook. We were afraid their mind because we never known each other before.
-Performing the story was difficult because I never played, did not know how to use our senses, and chose the story, which has the complete meaning and took short time. So, we must be brave in order to perform this story. On the other hand, traveling across the island by boat make my feeling nervous when we arrived at the centre of the sea. Moreover, the boat nearly sank because of the big undulating water, and I wish to arrive on the island soon.

Even though all difficulties that I described above completely difficult, but the more difficulties you are, the more we can decide to kick someone out from the group when we lost the competition. It seems the sentiment could not sideline someone from this games because we had joined the same difficulties, laugh, and work hard together.
So, when we kick someone out, it’s really affected to the sentiment and feeling when we ask, “ Who we get rid of in this game?”
Although I lost in this game, I think it’s really great for me, which I could do the hard working that I never done it before. I would take all of the experiences that I have been learnt to share with people around me especially use it in my future life.

By Khuon Lina, a member of team leader.

Sokchea SAING conducted Leadership courses at Rudi Boa Center
This article describes the activities which gives recommendations to the leadership students at Boueng Kak Lake, who graduated on August 20, 2007
At Rudi Boa Center I presented two courses. The first course, “Leadership Development Skill Classes”, was held between 12th March, 2007 and 27th May, 2007 and the second course, “Leadership in Action”, was held between 18th June, 2007 and 8th August, 2007.

I planned to teach a course called Job Seeking Strategy, which is a training program of Bridges Across Borders, in order to develop the leader through youth life in Cambodia. We know that everything has a starting point, the future will happen because of what started. A good start will bring a good future but in contrast, it could end up quite differently. Country director David Pred stated at a ceremony “In my life I had two choices: First a good way and the second a bad way, but I selected a good way for my life”. From this statement, I began to question why it was he selected the good way when he was young. There are a lot of Khmer youth who do not have choice, planning, or goals in their life. And they especially do not know seem to understand their own talent and skills.

In leadership class, we started with some questions about knowing yourself and who you are: Who am I? Where am I from? Where should I go? What should I do when I get there? Who is the leader? What should I do in order to be a good leader? What characteristics should a leader have? What kinds of conditions should I have? How do I train to become a strong leader?
There are points that we gave them to practice in this case study. For the first hour, all students joined to make the rules and regulations for the class. One student came in front of the white board to write and the other students called out their suggestions. They challenged each other with what they were saying, and the writer had difficulty following their speech. All their ideas were really good such as: come to study early, tolerance, and to ask each other questions.

Presentation:

Students must answer three questions, which are related to the goal of life, life management, and their lead of life. I always give the students homework and the next day two or three students present in front of the class. After they finished, their classmate could ask questions and give them some feedback. I saw nearly all the students were shy, complicated, and forgot everything. Some students practiced at home in order to do well. Miss Bopha desired for several days to present. She sweated and trembled, but she tried to be brave to answer the difficult questions from her classmates.
Mr. Net Kosal was a freshman student at the National Institute of Business and he gave a good presentation. This was because he managed it well and he explained his plan for life, goals for the future, and his daily execution. Through the presentation, nearly all of the students developed a clear plan that before they had never thought about.


Group Discussion:

Each lesson always had a group discussion where we divided everybody into smaller groups, to make the discussion easier. Each group had a representative to present the group ideas, and then other groups asked questions. Even though some of the students never discuss their ideas in the big group, I saw that they showed their ideas and could answer the questions very excellent. Sometimes the marvelous answers and questions came from their mouths.

Mr. Sambath told me that his parents did not concern about his study and sometimes he felt hopeless by himself. When the class breaks, he always took his story to discuss with me, and he promised that he will try to study until he got the number one student in the class. Sometimes Mr. Sambath studied without any time to eat food, and was a silent person who lacked confidence in the class. Now, Sambath is a sociable person with good communication skills and has the confidence to present in front of the white board and class.

Test:

When we finished the course, all the students had to do a test to get the certification. The students think a certificate is very important because they see it as a successful sign of study as well as being useful for job seeking. There were three main questions, and an extra one - which connected the feeling the students experienced after they had finished the course. One table had only two people with a different test. It was a wonderful sight after they finished this course. A new group of leaders for the community has now emerged who are brave to say what is true, and to do the right thing without being afraid and finding things difficult. Mr. Sambath told me that now he knows how to manage the goal of his life and to face the problems.
This is the letter of one my students, written on August 12, 2007 during graduated leadership class by the full meaning below:

Mss Meng Ratana

The advantage that I get from leadership class is improving my character. Before, I looked down on my friend because he believed different religion from me. One day, my friend invited me to join his religious ceremony. In the ceremony, I said badly to him that you wasted my time to come here; I didn’t believe another religion beside mine. Since that, we have never talked to each other.

After I study leadership class, I realize that I would not say those words to my friend because each religion leads people to be good. The words that I said to him were wrong. This class is very good for me and the country, I can participate in society. In the future, I will be a good leader of a company or my family, but I have never thought that before this class. In brief, I can get a lot of advantage from this class.

Life is Struggle
My name is Sok Eang, I study at Build Bright University in Phnom Penh now. I also study English and Leadership for two courses: Leadership in action and Management Leadership at AZIZA SCHOOL with a wonder, what is leadership? How can we become a good leader?

During I was taking leadership class at AZIZA SCHOOL for a while, I became to know and understand of life, how to live, how to struggle in life, leader’s operating and future and future goals very clearly. Before my life seems like living in a dark place because I didn’t take a leadership class. I don’t have goal and plan for the life, beside live one day and think one day, for I lost my parents whom loves me, now I am an orphan with three of my brothers and sisters . After I lived with one of my brothers who already married and my sister lives with her friend. She is a seamstress. The life living with sister in law is not easy, it hard to get a long well and have a good communication. Sometimes the tear is falling down from my face because of the unexpected or nasty words from her, so I sometimes eat food and sleep outside with my friends’ house. At that time my life wasn’t bright and no hope to continue to live in the future. In that situation, I lost my brave, didn’t think of the future life, this is the reason that makes me almost failed in discorragement to live and study is worse, wasted a lot of times in the passed years. But there are many things have been changed now, after I study leadership class, the lessons made me understand clearly about life, management , the life is going better. I started to think that life is struggle; work hard and patience so will complete the goals of life in the future. The real future is waiting who believe in his/her selves and brave, if we want to reach our goals.

My struggle was happened, when I caught new thing in life and social through learning and supporting from AZIZA SCHOOL and all friends those who worked with me. I started to work in school and outside of school. Now I can earn money by myself for helping of my study and some expenses for my brother.

Last of all, I would like to give a deep thanks to Drew and teacher, Sokchea SAING that taught me and friends at AZIZA SCHOOL and wish you happiness and successful in life.


By Sok Eang